Morphological characters, feeding habits, growth rate and reproductive behavior Chinese carp.

1. AQUACULTURE (AQU 220)
BOBY BASNET
ASSISTANT PROF. (ANIMAL SCIENCE)
ILAM COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE CAMPUS
PURBANCHAL UNIVERSITY
bobybasnet666@gmail.com

2. CHINESE CARP
1. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)
2. Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
3. Marble carp or bighead (Aristichthys nobilis)

3. Grass carp

5. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon Idella)
This is an exotic carp brought in Nepal from India and Japan in 1967 and 1968,
respectively.
The body of this fish is elongated and cylindrical with large, greenish scales.
Head broad, barbells absent and mouth sub-terminal with upper jaw slightly
longer than lower jaw.
Usually it has a toothless mouth, but has specialized pharyngeal teeth for
grasping aquatic vegetation.
Gill rakers are short and sparse.

8. Feeding habits
• Grass carp is a column/marginal feeder, herbivorous
and feed on wide variety of aquatic macro-
vegetation including certain terrestrial plants.
• The nature of food of grass carp fry is protozoa,
rotifers, nauplius larvae and minute aquatic plants.
• It is a voracious feeder and can consume 50-60%
weight of grass per day of its body weight.
• But digestion of fish is said to be incomplete and
about half the food material ingested is excreted as
faeces.
• The fry and longer fish takes substances like cereals
brans, silkworm pupae.

9. Growth rate
It is one of the fast
growing fish attains 1-2
kg in the first year.
Largest size attains is 1.5
m and 50 kg.
It is of large, turbid
rivers and associated
floodplain lakes, with a
wide degree of
temperature tolerance
(about 20 to 30 °C).

10. Reproductive
behavior fish
• It is seasonal breeder, matured in 2-3 years and
artificial breeding is done by hypophysation.
• The breeding season is April/May when the water
temperature is 22-27°C

11. Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
This is an exotic fish introduced to Nepal from India and Japan in 1967 and
1968, respectively.
This fish is characterized by flat and laterally compressed body covered by small
slivery scales.
Head small, barbells absent, mouth upturned with lower jaw longer than upper
and the abdominal keel is complete.
The posterior margin of the pectoral fin does not extend beyond the base of the
pelvic fin.
Gill rakers are dense, interlaced, connected and covered with a spongy sieve
membrane.

12. Silver Carp

13. Feeding
Behavior
• It is surface, phytoplankton feeder but
young fry feed zooplankton such as
rotifers and nauplius larvae.

14. Growth rate
•Its growth in the first year is 1-2
kg, largest size attains 40-50 kg.

15. Reproductive
behavior
• It is a seasonal breeder, matured in 2-3
years and artificial breeding is done by
hypophysation.
• The breeding season is April to July when
the temperature is 22-28°C.
• The major problem with this species is
stress intolerance, highly nervous and
active fish during handling.
• Due to handling stress sometimes, high
mortality can occur.
• So requires careful handling should be
done.

16. Bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis)
This is an exotic fish introduced to Nepal from America and Hungury in 1969
and 1972, respectively.
This fish is characterized by flat and laterally compressed body covered by small
slivery scales brownish above.
Head long and massive, barbells absent, mouth large, upturned with lower jaw
longer than upper and the abdominal keel is incomplete.
The posterior margin of the pectoral fin does not extend beyond the base of the
pelvic fin.
Gill rakers are dense, interlaced, connected and covered with a spongy sieve
membrane

17. Bighead carp

18. Feeding Habit
• It is surface, zooplankton feeder but
young fry feed on unicellular
phytoplankton, rotifers and nauplii
such as rotifers and nauplius larvae.

19. Growth rate
•Its growth in the first year is 1-2
kg, largest size attains 40-50 kg.

20. Reproductive Behavior
It is a seasonal
breeder, matured in 2-
3 years and artificial
breeding is done by
hypophysation.
The breeding season
is May to July when
the temperature is 22-
28°C.
This is docile and
hardy fish for
transportation and
handling

21. CHINESE MAJOR CARPS (in detail)
https://www.fao.org/3/p8669e/P8669E03.htm

22. Gill rakers are the finger-like
structures projecting across the slit
that help keep food from escaping
through the slits or damaging the
gills, which are the organs of gas
exchange.
Branchial arches, or gill arches
are a series of bony "loops" present
in fish, which support the gills.
Gill filaments: The soft, red, fleshy
part of the gills, through which
oxygen is taken into the blood from
the water passing through the gills.
Gill

23. Thank you